Advances in Floating Wind Technology Target Efficiency and Cost

This week, Apollo received an Approval in Principle from Bureau Veritas for its technology designed to simplify the connection and disconnection of dynamic cables from floating offshore wind turbines.

The design eliminates the need for specialist vessels, divers or personnel transfer.

It is just one of many advances being made to enhance the safety and economy of floating wind projects.

Also this week, Sonardyne and engineering consultancy AMOG signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly offer subsea asset monitoring services for offshore energy infrastructure. The partnership will combine Sonardyne's underwater monitoring, positioning and communication technologies with AMOG's engineering assessment capabilities to support the monitoring and integrity management of offshore assets, including floating offshore wind farms.

Another recent example is TouchWind’s floating wind turbine prototype which has now moved to in-water testing. The project team is studying how turbines with tilted rotors can deflect wakes and access higher-energy wind from upper air layers. This could increase wind farm power density.

In the academic literature, researchers from the University of Manchester have examined how water ballast, used to minimize pitch due to turbine thrust, can be fine-tuned to improving human workability